The Tuesday after American Thanksgiving, known as Giving Tuesday, has become a inherited tradition in Canada and a major fundraising day for non-profits. For donations that have local impact, we’ve listed ten organizations to support this holiday season — whether you’re giving to the arts, social services or health care.
Donate Food and Basic Necessities
- For 85 years, the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton has spread the holiday cheer by providing holiday meals to over 60,000 families.
- Hope Mission serves the city’s unhoused with hot meals, shelter, outreach and addiction recovery. During Giving Tuesday, they’re matching donations, meaning even greater impact for those most in need.
- Edmonton’s Food Bank is busy year-round — but with the upcoming holidays, many families are struggling more than ever to feed families and celebrate the season. The food bank ensures all Edmontonians can enjoy healthy food, regardless of circumstances.
- Holiday Hamper Edmonton partners with the Edmonton Public and Edmonton Catholic school boards to families in need. The program offers a unique way to give, where volunteers hand pick groceries and give hampers directly to recipients, so no one has to go without a turkey dinner this holiday season.
- Boyle Street Community Services accepts in-kind donations of items like clothing and toiletries that support Edmontonians living on the street. It’s a crucial service year round, but acutely important during the cold winter months.
Support The Community
- The Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society helps Indigenous children, youth and families connect to housing, employment, ceremony and other services that uplift Indigenous people in authentic, culturally-relevant ways.
- Ballet Edmonton brings contemporary ballet to the city, challenging audiences and creating original, boundary-pushing works. Donations help the company hire artists, operate the studio and do local outreach.
- Edmonton Community Foundation’s endowments and funds fuel our city — whether it’s in the arts, social enterprises, health research or fighting poverty, the organization’s many funds ensure our city stays innovative and vibrant.
- Help keep music alive in our city through the Winspear’s many programs — the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Tommy Banks Centre for Musical Creativity and the Youth Orchestra of Northern Alberta all promote live music in our city. Plus, the Winspear expansion project will help each of these programs thrive for years to come.
- University Hospital Foundation supports innovative research in Edmonton that has an impact far beyond the city limits, supporting the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic.
